A Divided Kingdom:The Books of I & II Kings

Allies and Enemies

Empires of the Old Testament

Announcements

Week Date Topic

1 05 Dec 12 The Bible before 2nd Kings – A Summary

2 12 Dec 12 Allies and Enemies: The World of the Israelites

3 19 Dec 12 Judgment on Ahaziah: II Ki 1

4 26 Dec 12 Elijah, Moab, and Naaman: II Ki 2-4

5 02 Jan 13 Elisha the Prophet: II Ki 5-8

6 09 Jan 13 Jehu’s Revolt: II Ki 9:1-10:28

7 16 Jan 13 After Jehu until the Fall of Samaria, Pt 1: II Ki 11-14

8 23 Jan 13 After Jehu until the Fall of Samaria, Pt 2: II Ki 15-17

9 30 Jan 13 Judah after the Fall of Israel, Pt 1: II Ki 18-19

10 06 Feb 13 Judah after the Fall of Israel, Pt 2: II Ki 20-21

11 13 Feb 13 Judah after the Fall of Israel, Pt 3: II Ki 22-23

12 20 Feb 13 Judah after the Fall of Isreal, Pt 4: II Ki 24-25

13 27 Feb 13 Summary of Kings

II Kings

Today’s Objectives• Review last weeks lesson (Old Testament history)• Review historical maps of Israel and the region• Learn about key empires that Israel faced leading up

to and including the book of 2nd Kings• Review occurrences of these empires in Old

Testament scripture• Gain a desire to learn more about ancient empires

and their impact upon OT and NT history• Review recent archaeological discoveries that

further highlight the history of these lost empires

Six Major Middle Eastern Empires

• In biblical history, the land of Israel/Palestine was ruled by six major empires:– Egyptians– Assyrians– Babylonians– Persians– Greeks– Romans

• Other minor empires impacted Israel’s history including the Hittites

Gen 15:18, Jos 1:41 Ki 10:28

1 Chr 5:26, Is 36:1-22

Promised LandGen 10:10 , 11:2 – “Shinar”

Gen 10:22 , Num 23:7

Gen 10:22, Ez 4:9

Mentioned in 558 versusIn the OT and NT

• 2334–2279 BC• Sargon the

Great• Era of Abram’s

forefathers• Language of

Mesopotamia

2100 B.C.

• Sumerians

• Abram birth and call

Migrations in 2000 B.C.Migrations in 2000 B.C.

Hekla III

2000-1800 B.C.

• City States• Assyria growing

Died 1750 B.C.

• Battle the city state of Larsa

• One of the first set of secular recorded laws

• Mesopotamia united

• After Joseph dies

• Assyrian independence

• Treaties with surrounding city-states

• Hittites conquer Babylon after attacking in 1585 BC allowed the Kassites to take over

• Kassite dynasty in Babylon (1500-1200 B.C.)

• During the period of Judges

HittitesHittites• The Hittites

– 2000 BC – perhaps from beyond the Back Sea– Lasted until about 1200 BC– Conquered Asia Minor– Set up several city states on Anatolia (Turkey)– 1650 BC well organized kingdom– Fearsome army

• First in Middle east to wield Iron weapons • Chariots – allowed them to field twice as many soldiers as their foes

– Opened the doors for the Kassites to take over for nearly 500 years

• Mitanni also known in the Bible as the Hurrians or Horites

• Came to power due to the Hittite after the destruction of Babylon

• Kassite dynasty in Babylon (1500-1200 B.C.)

• Egyptian political-military expeditions

• Diplomatic ties

• Mitanni forms alliance with Egypt against the Hittites

• Mitanni eventually defeated

• Ugarit, a protected state under the Hittite was eventually sacked by sea peoples

• Hittites fought Egypt in 1274 BC (Battle of Kadesh)

• Rameses II considered the greatest of the pharaohs

• Sea People migrations around 1200 BC

• Originated from Europe/Med

The Assyrians• Originated as part of the Mesopotamian nation states

with a long history• By 900 BC Assyrians became strong enough to repel

attacks – also began to launch their own military campaigns (during Israel’s divided kingdom)

• Gained reputation as the most lethal fighting force in the Middle East – Broke troops into foot soldiers, charioteers, and fast-

moving cavalry – Fought with iron weapons and used battering rams– Cruel invaders

• Burned cities, tortured and killed thousands of captives• Resettled captured populations

Rise and Fall of the Assyrians

Rise and Fall of the Assyrians• Assyrian Empire divided into provinces headed

by a governor who was directly responsible to the king

• Built a network of roads to improve communication

• Conquered peoples continually rebelled• 612 BC Chaldeans formed an alliance with the

Medes from the east– They captured Nineveh (Assyrian capital) and brought

down the Assyrian Empire

Assyria

Babylon

Medes

Scythians

Carchemish

EGYPT

Megiddo

The Babylonian

• Dominated the entire Fertile Crescent after fall of Assyrians

• King Nebuchadnezzar (605-562 BC) – height of Chaldean empire– Acquired great wealth– Rebuilt Babylon into one of the most beautiful cities of the

ancient world– Hanging Gardens – one of 7 wonders of the world

• Constructed by Nebuchadnezzar for his wife– Immense wall around city 50’ high w/watch towers every

100 yards– Created foundations for astronomy– 539 BC Persians conquered the empire

Babylonian Conquest of Judah

• 605 BC - Babylon defeats Egypt; territory of Judah becomes part of Babylonian Empire

• 597 BC - First unsuccessful revolt of Judah vs. Babylon; ruling elite of Judah exiled to Babylon

• 586 BC - Another unsuccessful revolt of Judah vs. Babylon; total destruction of Jerusalem city & temple by Babylonians

Babylonian Exile

• 586-539 BC - most upper-class Jews (officials, priests, artisans) deported to Babylon; others flee to Egypt, etc.;

• Much the Bible written, esp. major prophets; final compilation of Torah (Genesis to Deuteronomy) & Deuteronomistic History (Joshua to 2 Kings) by Judean scribes living in exile in Babylon.

The PersiansThe Persians• Originally nomadic warriors and cattle herders• Settled in area of present day Iran• 540s Cyrus developed a strong army and

conquered the Medes and advanced northward adding Northern Mesopotamia, Syria, Canaan and Phoenician cities to his empire

• 525 VC Cambyses (Cyrus’ son) conquered Egypt bringing all of Middle East under Persian control

• Empire spread from Nile River to Indus River (3000 miles) with more than 50 million people under their control

• Darius I (522 – 486 BC)– Most efficient of Persian rulers– Divided realm into provinces and assigned satraps –

provincial governors – to rule– Military officials and tax collectors from the

subjugated peoples helped keep order• Persians tolerant rulers

– Allowed conquered peoples to retain their own languages, religions, and laws

– Won loyalty of conquered people by respecting local customs

– Believed loyalty could be won more easily with fairness than fear or force

– However did not hesitate to take extreme military measures when faced with rebellion

Persians

Persians• Considered trade indecent

– Though encouraged it among the peoples of their empire

– Improved and expanded roads to aid trade– Royal Road – most important thoroughfare stretched

more than 1500 miles from Persia to Asia Minor– Stations every 14 miles provided travelers with food,

water, and fresh horses– Royal messengers to travel the length of the road in

just 7 days – a vast improvement over the 3 months it had taken previously

Persians• Persian expansion stopped with Xerxes disastrous

campaign to conquer Greece in 480 BC• Person Culture & Religion

– Persians followed strict moral code that stressed bravery and honesty

– Prior to 500s BC polytheistic– 570 BC Zoroaster preached world divided by struggle

between good (Ahura Mazda) and evil (Ahriman)– All humans must choose a side– Persian kings believed they ruled by the power of

Ahura Mazda and were responsible to him alone– Zoroaster was likely influenced by the Israelite beliefs

and influenced Christian and Islam writers• Alexander absorbed Persian Empire in 300s BC

Persian Period• 539 BC – Babylonian empire conquered by Persians

– King Cyrus allows all exiles to return to their homelands– Urges reconstruction of city & temple of Jerusalem– Book of Ezra & Nehemiah gives account

• Ca. 520 – rebuilding of Second Temple in Jerusalem– Not as nice or large as Solomon’s Temple

• Ca. 458-445 – more exiles return to Jerusalem– Led by priest Ezra & governor Nehemiah

• Some Jews stay in other parts of the Middle East, sometimes in conflict with other nations.– Book of Esther

Others

• Aramaeans

• Phoenicians

• Hittites

The AramaeansThe Aramaeans

• Central Syria around 1200 BC

• Damascus – capital

• Kings constantly challenged

• Controlled overland trade between Egypt and Mesopotamia

• Aramaic spoken across the Fertile Crescent until 800 AD

• Some parts of bible written in Aramaic

The PhoeniciansThe Phoenicians

• Canaan – today modern Lebanon, Israel, and Jordan

• Sailors• Little arable land for farming so became sailors• By 1200 BC had built a string of city states • Largest city was Tyre

– Provided leadership for what remained a confederation – loose union – of independent Phoenician city-states

Review• Reviewed last weeks lesson (Old Testament history)

• Reviewed historical maps of Israel and the region

• Learned about key empires that Israel faced leading up to and including the book of 2nd Kings

• Reviewed occurrences of these empires in Old Testament scripture

• Reviewed recent archaeological discoveries that further highlight the history of these lost empires

• Next week: 2nd Kings chapter 1